The Abridged version:
- Sacramento City Unified School District board members late Thursday night approved about 360 additional layoffs to help solve a deep budget crisis that could result in state takeover of the district. The cuts include the district’s entire central office.
- District officials say they have identified about $63 million in savings. They still need to come up with another $70 million.
- School administrators blasted the decision, saying they are being unfairly targeted.
Sacramento City Unified School District may scrape by after all. But not without some bruising budget cuts and hundreds of layoffs.
The district that has been grappling with a multimillion-dollar budget crisis and the prospect of state receivership now projects having just enough cash to make it through this school year.
“I wouldn’t say we stopped the bleeding,” Lisa Grant-Dawson, interim chief business officer, told the board Thursday. “I would say we’ve moved (to) being able to address the hemorrhaging.”
Grant-Dawson and staff have identified about $63 million in savings so far. But they are anticipating an even larger budget deficit this school year than previously identified. Officials must still come up with an additional $70 million.
Even more layoffs
Trustees in February approved eliminating about 420 positions. On Thursday, they signed off on almost 400 more.
The overwhelming majority of the new 363 layoffs hit administrators. Trustees approved sending every employee in the district’s central office a pink slip.
About 800 preliminary layoff notices will go out by March 15. Final notices are due May 15.
Some jobs may still be saved
Staff have said they do not expect 800 terminations at the end of the school year, though.
About 150 of the positions on the chopping block are currently vacant. Some employees in eliminated positions may be asked to stay on after all. Others might shift to a different role in the district, made available by a retirement or resignation.
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And school board members said they do not plan on eliminating the entire central office but will “restructure” and reduce top positions as they see fit.
Casting a wide net of layoff notices now, trustees said, buys them more time to decide which jobs actually must go.
“We are really out of time,” said Trustee Taylor Kayatta. “We need to act now so that we can have the next two months to plan before the actual layoff notices go out.”
Principals, managers push back
Many school and department leaders say while they understand the need, they feel unfairly targeted.
“Almost every single week someone says to me, ‘I would never do your job,'” Laura Butler, principal at Abraham Lincoln Elementary, told the board Thursday.
“Speaking poorly about administrators, blanket pink slipping and disrespecting the work we do,” Butler added, “is going to drive them away from our district in droves.”
Savannah Kuchar is a reporter covering education. She came to Sacramento to be a part of the Abridged team and contribute to a crucial local news source.